Irony
by Quick-Sword Ilena
Summary: "Oh, the irony. Fire is slowly killing us, now." A young rogue-born she-cat in a weak Clan. A young clan-born she-cat in a strong group of rogues. One is brave. The other is selfless. A force even darker than the Dark Forest. A she-cat who can see Death. A tom torn between kin and his Clan. A choice. Please...save yourself.
1. Scream and cry

You can scream. You can cry. No one will ever, ever hear you.

Blood-red flames lick the insides of my raw heart. I can satisfy the urge for revenge. This surging bloodlust that rages through my veins cannot be quenched until I have my goal.

A ginger tom comes to me in my dreams.

_"All these tears, all this blood you have painted the ground with. Is it worth it?"_

I respond with yes, yes, it is worth it.

My family dies. Wiped out. I don't care.

Then I realize that I am leader, leader of ThunderClan. Leader of the most important Clan in the world.

I know what I must do.

"Here are my true words now abide by this law-all those who are weak must be killed. Those who wish to die and those who wish to live, are separated by a single bloody claw!"

"Now, bow to me!"

The beast inside me purrs.

I watch slowly as the Clans adjust to my commands. My Clan enforces the laws I have set down.

Go ahead, little weak ones, you can scream, you can cry, but no one will ever, ever hear you.

* * *

It is a cold morning with the sun barely risen.

"Please, take care of my kits."

Three shivering bundles of dark fur lie at the paws of a dark-furred rogue. A silvery-gray she-cat stands before them.

"Of course, Damselfly. My kits died out here minutes ago. Everyone will think they are my own," the she-cat says quietly, picking up two of the tiny kits. The third one writhed blindly.

"It's fine with me if you only take two. I'll have to...to...to...to do away with the third. The fourth has already died," Damselfly says quietly, picking up the third.

The silvery-gray she-cat nods, and turns. She passes the corpses of two tiny kits.

Minutes after she passed, one stirs, and mewls loudly, heralding the coming of the dawn.


	2. You'd better use that talent, kid

_Main cast:(as of yet. Hollyfang is not important to be qualified as the main cast yet)_

**_Ravenkit/paw-Black she-cat with blue-green eyes_**

**_Falconkit/paw-Tom with many shades of brown fur and blue-green eyes_**

**_Hailstar-Dark gray tom with dark blue eyes_**

**_Duskflower-Pale silvery-gray she-cat with green eyes_**

"Ouch!"

"Sorry, Ravenkit!"

"Don't be so harsh with your sister, Falconkit!"

"He already said sorry, mother, and I just stepped on a thorn. It was my own fault."

Duskflower looked down at her two kits, Ravenkit and Falconkit.

"Go see Barksnap, then, Ravenkit."

Ravenkit recoiled. "Barksnap? He's terrifying!"

"I don't care. Go anyway," Duskflower snapped, her blue eyes and pale gray fur suddenly prickling, as if she had been struck by lightning.

Ravenkit nodded, and scurried away as fast as she could with a thorn in her paw.

* * *

Falconkit watched as his sister fled.

"Falconkit. I want to talk to you," Duskflower mewed, pulling him into the nursery.

"Yes?"

"Falconkit, everyone thinks you're going to be the next leader. You're strong and trustworthy, but you lack the ruthlessness that all leaders must have in battle. You're too gentle, Falconkit. I know you want to be leader but you must simply be satisfied with being a warrior. Ravenkit isn't strong physically, but she's strong mentally, she's trustworthy, and she doesn't shy away from violence. If Hailstar has any sense in him, Ravenkit will be leader. I...just wanted to tell you. Now go out and play."

Faconkit stepped out of the nursery, into the blinding sunlight.

"Hey, Falconkit! It was a big thorn! Barksnap say's I'll have a scar on my paw! A scar, Falconkit! And I'm only five moons old!"

* * *

A moon later, Ravenkit and Falconkit stood before the Highbranch, their dark pelts sleek and their eyes the color of water gleaming.

Oh, but they weren't kits anymore.

They were apprentices.

"Falconpaw, come on. I'm teaching you how to hunt, now," the usually kind Hailstar led his apprentice out of camp.

"Oy. Ravenpaw. We're training," the blunt and rude Hollyfang snapped at her apprentice.

The four cats left camp together, then split up.

A fox-length or so away from the lake, Hollyfang stopped.

"This is where I'm teaching you how to fight. Now get into the water up to your belly.

Ravenkit didn't question her mentor. The cool water felt good after the hot and muggy wetlands...the only downside was the lack of shade from the pines.

Hollyfang sprang at Ravenpaw, claws sheathed.

Ravenpaw yelped, ducking and throwing herself at the shore. Hollyfang landed with a splash.

Ravenpaw narrowed her eyes. Hollyfang had struggled to her feet.

She bent her knees, and leaped onto Hollyfang's back, but fell off. She managed to drag Hollyfang underwater with her.

The water was dirty, but she could clearly see boulders keeping most of the dirt from rising to the surface of the lake in the deeper part.

And then Hollyfang shoved her out of the curious world, letting the sunlight start to dry her wet fur.

"Good. If RiverClan does end up invading, I have a feeling you'll be ready," Hollyfang said approvingly. "But you overestimate your own strength. Go for speed, not strength. And avoid battle. You're...more of a strategist than a warrior. Use that talent as much as you can, kid. You're gonna need it."

* * *

"You're strong, Falconpaw, but you overestimate your own intelligence. You are a bit below average. You try and do things that takes not skill but intelligence to do. You tried to make a plan, Falconpaw, and it practically destroyed a very, very large bush," Hailstar scolded. He was still rather kind, even when he was reprimanding apprentices.

"Yes, Hailstar," Falconpaw said quietly, doing his best to disappear. But that was hard, seeing that he was uncommonly large for his age.

A moon had passed since that day when they were made apprentices.

Ravenpaw stifled a laugh behind him. Hollyfang promptly whacked her, hard, in the nose with her big and fluffy tail.

"Ravenpaw. Climb a tree," Hollyfang ordered.

Ravenpaw jumped up, darted over to the nearest tree, and scrambled up it.

Hailstar watched as the tiny she-cat made it halfway up and paused, panting, before leaping up the rest of it in three powerful bounds.

"Faclonpaw, do the same," Hailstar said. His tone was gentle.

Falconpaw halfheartedly walked over to a tree and began climbing it slowly, sending leaves showing down with every jump from branch to branch.

"Good, good! _Much _better than every other apprentice I've seen in the past three green-leafs!" Hailstar exclaimed.

Ravenpaw snapped a big stick off with her teeth, and dropped it. It landed on Hailstar's head.

"Good job, Ravenpaw! You're a real apprentice of mine!" Hollyfang exclaimed as at the same time Hailstar yelped, "Go into a badger's den, like every other apprentice should, you fox-hearted mouse-brain!"

Total silence.

Hailstar's eyes flickered gold before returning to the usual shade of gentle green.

"What? I didn't say anything."

The day went on as usual after that, although Ravenpaw, Falconpaw and Hollyfang avoided contact with Hailstar as much as possible.


	3. So that we can fly

**A/N: A Kite is a bird.**

Ravenpaw looked over at her brother. He had been on a hunting patrol with Hailstar, Pineclaw, the deputy, and Barksnap, who was out hunting for herbs. How odd, the leader's apprentice on a patrol with the most important cats in the entire Clan.

Hailstar and Firestreak were weighed down with prey, and Barksnap was having trouble carrying his herbs.

Oh, and Falconpaw was carrying a teeny-tiny shrew. About enough for a kit. What a good catch.

After a minute or so of Hailstar talking to him-clearly complimenting-Falconpaw strolled-more lumbered-over to Ravenpaw.

"I'd like to see you catch that much!" He boasted.

"Yeah, the crow and the rabbit I caught on my third day _definitely _pale in comparison to your newborn shrew."

Falconpaw swelled at my sarcastic comment. "I know! And this is my first time hunting!"

"Thirteenth," Ravenpaw corrected, rolling onto her back. "I've only been out hunting five times since when we were made apprentices two moons ago. Have your fighting skills improved much?"

Falconpaw sat down, sunlight catching his fur and turning it golden. "Yes, much! I just learned how to do the jump and pin! You?"

Ravenpaw stared for a moment. Jump and pin? How did he do that at only eight moons? That was so complicated!

"I just learned how to use my speed to drive a cat up a tree and then knock it out again. I practiced on Birchpaw."

Falconpaw stared. "That seems hard. Speed is hard."

"Nah, speed is easy. It's the climbing at a quick speed and knocking the cat out that's hard," Ravenpaw corrected. "You could do it if you were smaller and faster. But I've already mastered climbing fast-it's just the shoving the cat out that I find hard. I'm not very strong, I'm built for speed and climbing, not paw-to-paw combat," she explained.

"Oy, kid! Hailstar has to talk to Firestreak about something for a bit, and I'm taking you and your dumb brother out training," Hollyfang said. She had gone over there unnoticed.

Ravenpaw nodded, then turned to her older brother-older by about five minutes.

"Falconpaw, get up. You're coming training with me and Hollyfang."

"Is that allowed?"

"Yes, Birdhead, it's not against the warrior code to do this. It is against the warrior code for anyone to leave Clan territory, fight their own Clanmates, or make alliances. I think that last rule is a bunch of mouse-dung. And there are a ton of other rules, but I don't really want to go over all of those pieces of mouse-dung," Ravenpaw said as they left camp. Hollyfang nodded approvingly at her apprentice's words.

"Uh...is it against the warrior code to disagree with the rules?"

"Yes. And do I care? No."

* * *

"Use you size, you idiot piece of bird crap! That's to the big one!" Hollyfang yowled. Sometimes her rogue upbringing showed stronger than other times.

She had been orphaned at an early age and the kindly Redstar let her join. She had always been very, very popular among all of the Clans because of the way she talked.

"Yes, dear mentor, oh how I love your beautiful and kind language," Ravenpaw said calmly as she tripped Falconpaw. He was better at fighting, but she knew him well, and she was much better trained than him. It was a serious advantage, having your mentor call you a 'wimpy piece of bird crap' every ten minutes.

"Good move! You're not as much of a wimp anymore!" Hollyfang yowled.

"Thanks, O dear and kind mentor, I think you for your kindness and gentle tone!" Ravenpaw retorted.

"But she was mean." Falconpaw stopped mid crouch, straightening up.

"Bad move, wimpy piece of bird crap," Ravenpaw said quietly as she grabbed him by the scruff, knocking him over.

"I'm not a wimp!" Falconpaw yowled, trying to hit her with what would've killed her if she hadn't of dragged him to his feet and chased him over to a tree.

Ravenpaw contemplated this as she began the process of forcing him up the tree.

"You're right. You just plain _thick._" She rammed him with the top of her head, shoving her brother onto the first branch.

"Am not! Wait what does that mean?"

Ravenpaw purred in amusement as she shoved him higher and higher. She was able to shove him up quickly now. She had improved a lot since the first time she had tried it.

At last, they were up about ten tail-lengths from the top.

"See you at the bottom, dear brother," Ravenpaw said as she knocked his front legs out from under him. He landed on all fours with a thump.

Ravenpaw only now realized the the branches had cut her on the legs. She swayed, suddenly unbalanced after seeing her brother falling.

"Ravenpaw! Don't be a wimp! get down here!"

Ravenpaw nodded, and started climbing down as quickly as she could.

Once she had reached the ground, Hollyfang started giving orders.

"The other two apprentices will be here soon. I want you to split into two teams-you'll each have one warrior on each team, and the other two will oversee your performance. The two more intelligent ones will be on one team, meaning Ravenpaw and Birchpaw, and the two others will be on the other, meaning Streampaw and Falconpaw. I'm guessing that Hillclaw will be on the bird crap team and Wolfbriar will be on the good team," Hollyfang explained. She finished just as five more cats emerged from the wood-Hailstar, Wolfbriar, Birchpaw, Hillclaw and Streampaw.

"I see you explained the idea?" Hailstar said calmly. Those eyes were so...unnerving. "Wolbriar will be on Birchpaw's team, and Hillclaw will be on Falconpaw's team."

Hollyfang, for some reason, looked horrified. "Ravenpaw is better suited for strategy. Birchpaw is, well...too loyal to be a leader."

Hailstar nodded, but he looked miffed.

After explaining what they were to do, the two groups went off, Ravenpaw in the lead of one, Falconpaw in the lead of the other.

* * *

"How about we find their Base and attack it?" Streampaw suggested.

Falconpaw shook his head. "No. We need str-stagegy."

Streampaw twitched her whiskers. "You mean streetegy?"

Hillclaw rolled his eyes. "Idiots, it's straigety."

"Yeah!" Falconpaw said. "We need to...um...split up! One of goes in the front, one the back, and one on one of the sides! Or maybe we can recruit Hailstar..."

* * *

Unfortunately for them, you can't do that in a tree.

"Well, what do we do now?" Wolfbriar asked as she licked her spotted paw. The black-and-white she-cat stood out against the brown bark of the oak they sat in.

"Yes. What do we do?" Birchpaw asked. He stood out too, with his long golden-brown fur and kind blue eyes.

Ravenpaw, who blended in with the shadows she was crouched in, sat up.

"We need Hailstar on her side. Falconpaw will recruit him...but he's dumb. Hollyfang would be better, but we still need a spy...hm. We were told not to attack before our opponents are on their guard. We're allowed to gather reinforcements from camp..." Ravenpaw's eyes widened. "They'll expect us to gather reinforcements. They'll be guarding the camp. We need to go to the vicinity of camp and hide...then sneak up on them. We can capture Falconpaw and get him to the lake. Then get the others...and we'll win."

* * *

"Kay. That didn't work," Streampaw said after watching a golden-brown underbelly flash overhead in the trees.

"We guard the camp! They getting reinforcemts." Falconpaw began.

"Reinforcements." Streampaw corrected.

"Reimforcememts. That's what I said. Anyway, we guard camp and camture-"

"Capture."

"Captrue Ravenpaw! Then we hide and get rest them."

Streampaw shrugged. "Sounds good."

"Best strategy I've heard since Hailstar killed Dirtstar!" Hillclaw growled.

* * *

Ravenpaw sat calmly, thinking. And she was up to her shoulders in lake water.

"How can you like that?" Birchpaw asked, poking his head out the twisted, intertwining branches a a fallen tree nearby.

"Hollyfang taught be to like water. She figured out it helps me think," Ravenpaw explained, then took a deep breath a plunged underwater, then popped above the surface after thirty seconds or so.

"Hi. Hide!" Ravenpaw hissed. Birchpaw ducked back into hiding.

A scarred gray tabby emerged from the wood, followed by a silvery-gray she-cat.

"Good. Streampaw, secure the tom. He's in the tree."

Streampaw obeyed, leaping into the branches. There was a muffled yelp, scuffling, then silence.

"Well now, little kit," Hillclaw strolled into the lake, walking over to the small she-cat. "Get captured peacefully, and we won't drag you."

Falconpaw emerged from the wood, looking as dumb as he always did.

"Sorry, but I actually know how to swim."

Ravenpaw dove under the surface, dragging Hillclaw to the bottom of the lake and swimming along the shore.

Falconpaw backed up, and fled along the shore to a dip in the pebbles. There was a pile of uproot thornbushes around it with one gap. Falconpaw scurried through the gap, his black tail-tip vanishing with a tiny flick.

Ravenpaw slunk to the edge of the low wall. She leaped over it in a single bound. She landed on Falconpaw's back.

"Gerrofme!" He yelped, hitting the ground with a thud.

* * *

"We did it! Wolfbriar yowled. "We won!"

Hollyfang was ferociously licking Ravenpaw dry. She was more fond of her apprentice than she let on.

"Falconpaw, how did you lose? You're the most intelligent cat I know. Well, other than myself," Hailstar asked, annoyed.

Falconpaw scuffled the dirt, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Well...Ravenpaw is much smarter than me. She's really smart."

Total silence.

* * *

"That was amazing! I mean, he's so much bigger than you!" Kitebeak said, looked very, very happy. "I knew that sis would have wonderful kits!"

Ravenpaw's breath caught in her throat. No one had called her wonderful before.

"Th-Thank you,' she managed to get out.

The birdlike she-cat batted at a leaf falling from the tree overhead. "Changing the subject...I wish I could fly. Don't you? I mean, we are named after birds...I want to fly." She unsheathed her claws, reaching into the air, catching the tip of another leaf and pulling it down.

Ravenpaw nodded.

"Yes. I think that we are named these names..." she trailed off for a moment, lifting her gaze to the darkening sky, the horizon tinted red.

"So that we can fly...and actually be free."


	4. Never with your claws

"Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw, wake up."

Ravenpaw opened her eyes to see Firestreak crouched in front of her.

"...Yes?" She asked.

"Come on. You're on the dawn patrol."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Ravenpaw stumbled along behind Kitebeak and Hollyfang.

"Hurry up, Ravenpaw!" Hollyfang ordered.

"Yes, Hollyfang," Ravenpaw muttered.

Something rustled in the bushes.

Ravenpaw was the only one to sniff the air. She caught a half-forgotten scent...

"Fox!" She screeched just as a red-and-white blur shot out from the bushes, going straight for the two warriors, frozen in fear.

Hollyfang scrambled up the nearest tree. Kitebeak was frozen.

The fox leaped onto Kitebeak. Blood hit the ground in milliseconds.

Time seemed to slow down. Already blood-stained jaws opened over a golden-brown neck.

"No!" Ravenpaw screeched. Hollyfang had fallen from a rotting branch. Her mentor was unconscious, bleeding from a wound between her eyes...

_"Kitebeak, let's play"_

_Kitebeak turned around, and smiled at the tiny black she-cat before her._

_"Of course. What do you want to play?"  
_

_"Firestar and Ravenpaw!"_

_Kitebeak purred. "I used to play that every day, too. Now, how about I be Ravenpaw this time?"_

_Ravenkit nodded. "Okay, Kitebeak!"_

And she leaped.

Her claws sank into that horrible-smelling neck.

And the fox stepped back, howling.

"Die, you stinking piece of brainless foxdung," Ravenpaw whispered. But she wasn't fast enough.

Huge jaws closed around a skinny leg. A thin apprentice hit the ground with a shriek as the jaws let go. Huge claw-like nails tore a deep wound in her side.

"Sister!"

A golden-brown blur landed on the fox's back. The fox fell in five seconds, seemingly dead.

Ravenpaw's vision was blurry, edged with black. Then meaningless words, pain, and comforting blackness...

* * *

Fear.

Anger.

Falconpaw stepped back in shock as Hailstar and Firestreak ran out of the denser trees behind him.

"You...you killed a fox?"

And then, like the cruel joke this world is, the fox sprang up from the ground.

It lunged.

But instead of Falconpaw, it hit Hailstar in the face. The old leader shrieked, turned, and fled with a fox chasing him.

Firestreak ran after Hailstar.

Kitebeak sat up, groaned, and then saw Ravenpaw.

"That apprentice...oh StarClan that little kit is brave."

The horizon could be seen across the nearby lake. The sky was tinted red.

Falconpaw's weak, wordless mew of fear heralded the dawn with only terror for kin.

Firestreak returned, looking horrified.

"Hailstar. Dead. My fault. I sent the dawn patrol to the RiverClan border."

Firestreak walked over to Hollyfang, and picked up the limp she-cat. The fall had left her with a broad cut on her face.

Falconpaw picked up his sister. She hung limp, bleeding heavily from her side.

* * *

Ravenpaw opened her eyes.

Intense, worried green eyes stared back at her.

"Mum?" She said, recognizing the gray fur ruffled around the ears. "What happened?"

Duskflower paused. "We're not sure. Hollyfang fell when you leaped on the fox, and Kitebeak doesn't want to talk about it, and Falconpaw was there after you attacked the fox.

"...Oh," Ravenpaw mewed faintly.

"But that's okay, right? They lived. That's all that matters," Another voice joined the conversation. Falconpaw's voice.

Ravenpaw smiled, and drifted back into sleep.

* * *

Barksnap stood up. He left his silent vigil in front of the Medicine Den. He strolled over to where a ginger tom sat, head hanging as the last rays of the setting sun turning his fur to leaping fire.

"Firestar. I need to talk to you."

Firestar looked up. His piercing blue eyes looked weak and forlorn.

"Oh, Barksnap. The laws will keep us safe from now on, won't they? They shield us all from danger's whispering voice," he said quietly. His voice sounded like two rocks scraping together.

Barksnap narrowed his eyes, flattening his ears.

"Those who think they are safe behind the law 'forever' are just fooling themselves. Look at murder. Look at thievery. Look at everything around you, and do not pretend you are not breaking some law somewhere. Nothing is perfect. Words mean nothing if you can drown them out. Go ahead. Scream and cry all you want, but justice will never be on your side. No one can hear you when you die alone," the old medicine cat snarled. His tail fluffed up and the black spots scattered over the brown fur blended with the paler color.

Firestar looked down again, wallowing in self-pity.

* * *

"Meaningless words!"

Streampaw jumped back, tail fluffing up in fright. She had given a horrible message to Ravenpaw.

"You stinking idiot! You really think I believe that crap?" Ravenpaw hissed.

"I...I was just saying...that you won't be able to hunt or fight or do anything a warrior does, and since Barksnap already has an apprentice you'll have to be an elder for the rest of your life..." Streampaw trailed off, looking helpless. In the background, Sparrowpaw stifled laughter at the terrified, unusually big apprentice.

"Meaningless words!" Ravenpaw snapped again. "Being a warrior isn't all fighting, half-wit!"

Streampaw responded poorly to that.

"Then what does being a warrior mean? Warriors hunt! Warriors fight! Warriors obey commands!"

Ravenpaw narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe there should be a new rank that ones who want to be warriors but cannot can be. Maybe called a...a Strategist...or perhaps...perhaps word-warriors. Word-warriors. I like that." Ravenpaw drifted off into fantasy as Streampaw fled from the terrifyingly intelligent apprentice.

* * *

"Another rank?"

Streampaw nodded.

Firestar smiled slightly.

"Yes, I will allow that...I think word-warrior is a good name for it. Now I will commence the ceremony for her word-warriorship.

He stepped out of the den calmly, as the sun reached it's highest point.

* * *

"Come one, Ravenpaw."

Ravenpaw looked up. Duskflower was gently pushing Ravenpaw up.

Ravenpaw scrambled to her feet, but lost her balance as pain flooded her back leg.

Duskflower let her daughter lean on her as they walked out into the clearing, looking as similar as a dove looks like a raven.

Firestar had just finished some sort of speech. ShadowClan was stirring, looking surprised.

"Ah, and here comes the first one of the new rank," Firestar said calmly, looking over at the two cats.

"Can you support yourself?" Duskflower asked, looking down at the smaller she-cat.

"Yes," Ravenpaw said quietly, folding her leg up against her body the best she could, ignoring the pain in the broken bone and limping forward on three legs.

When she finally reached the spot of ground where Firestar stood. Sunlight turned his pelt to fiery gold.

"Ravenpaw, you haven proven your bravery by taking on a fox to defend your mother's sister. We have decided to create a new rank, named word-warriors. This new rank is that of diplomacy and intelligence, and you mus face enemy Clans to deliver declarations of war, and also messages to prevent war. You, with your strengths and weaknesses have proven yourself perfect for your rank. You name will be Ravenbriar. StarClan honors your courage and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full member of this Clan."

"Ravenbriar! Ravenbriar!"

Ravenbriar had to interrupt.

"Firestar. I'm only three and a half moons inter my apprenticeship."

Firestar looked down at her.

"Do you really think you're going to end up fighting? You are not the type, little girl. You will defend us with your mind. Never with your claws."


	5. By deciding to win

Ravenbriar opened her eyes to a cold, clear day in the beginning of leaf-bare.  
"Ravenbriar, wake up. You're supposed to pick the spot for the Word-Warrior den."  
She looked up at Kitebeak's serious face, with that mark on her shoulder from the fox a half-moon ago.

"About time..." Ravenbriar grumbled, standing up and immediately folding her leg against her body the best she could. There was still sticks bound to the lower part, but it didn't really bother her. She slept on her side and could walk easily on three legs.

The two she-cats strolled over to one corner of camp, slightly higher than all of the rest, where you could see the entire camp.

Ravenbriar looked over the entire camp for a free space, and at last noticed a place that she had never noticed before.

It was a pit-a pit in the corner of camp where only a bird sat, chirping angrily. It was about a mouse-length into the territory. Ferns grew around in a protective shield, and a pine stood firmly and resolutely in the middle, it's branches sheltering the area in a roof of green and brown.

"There," Raventalon said confidently, nodding at the pit.  
"Are you sure?" It's pretty far from the rest of the camp..." Kitebeak trailed off, looking confused. "The warriors den isn't there because it's so far from the entrance.  
"I'm sure," Ravenbriar assured her. "It's very, very secluded."

Ravenbriar looked up at the dead ferns laced firmly into the branches above, and then to the side, where pine branches hung down to the tips of the tall, thick ferns.

A gap that the warriors had cleared showed a view of camp, where Firestar and Pineclaw discussed something. Barksnap wandered over, asked a question, and sat down, looking slightly confused.

Two kits tumbled out of the nursery, one black and ginger, the other dark gray. They quickly enaged in a playfight. A ginger-and-black queen hurried out of the nursery after them, shooing them back inside.

A group of apprentices sat around the entrance to their den, looking bored.

The seven warriors chatted at the edge of camp, also looking rather bored. The two elders joined them, clearly lecturing Hollyfang and Wolfbriar. Both looked annoyed.

"Ravenbriar?"

Ravenbriar glanced down at the dark gray she-kit she had seen earlier. Her mother had just entered the nursery, looking resigned.

"Yes, Dawnkit?"

The kit looked down, then looked up again.  
"I want to be a Word-Warrior! I'm going to be an apprentice tomorrow! Please let me be your apprentice!"

Ravenbriar looked down in surprise.

"You'll have to ask Firestar about that. I think he might be appointing more Word-Warriors, so in case you want someone else as your mentor..." Ravenbriar trailed off as the kit shook her head.

"N-no! I already told Mum that I want you to be my mentor so she's going over to talk to Firestar right now!" Dawnkit said fiercely, looking up at Ravenbriar with surprisingly blue eyes.

StarClan, I'm four moons older than this kit! What do I do? Ravenbriar thought helplessly.

"Um...I...er...maybe I'll be able to..." Ravenbriar trailed off, looking helplessly confused. She was good with plans, but she was actually incredibly awkward and would rather be thinking up new fighting moves than talk to others!

"Okay!" Dawnkit said cheerfully, turned, and darted off. Clearly, she was awkward as well.  
-~_~_~_~_~-

"...Ravenbriar, I expect you to pass on all you know to this apprentice."

"Dawnpaw! Dawnpaw!"

Ravenbriar couldn't help but shiver. She had been two moons away from apprenticeship when her apprentice had been born.

StarClan, how could she handle a six-moon-old cat with so little training that she didn't even know how to teach?

They stepped out of camp.

"What are we going to do?"

Ravenbriar hesitated for a moment.

"A tour of the territory. And the lake. I want to get you used to water. You'll be able to operate better in all kinds of territory. I'm sure that RiverClan territory is very wet...and we're going to go on diplomatic missions."

Dawnpaw paused.

"Ravenbriar, how are we going to change the warrior code?"

Ravenbriar ignored that comment.

"The Training Hollow is this way...be careful, that's the entrance to an old badger set...don't trip over that tree root! It's all right, I tripped too on my first day. Don't fall into the lake! Come on. There's a lower part here...I need to teach you some fighting. Now some hunting...oh, mouse dung. Falconclaw! I need your help! Yes, I'm not perfect. Look at my leg! Very good..."

The days went on similar to that.

But still, every day, Dawnpaw asked the same, haunting question that bothered Ravenbriar.

"How will we change the warrior code?"

And then, one day, Ravenbriar answered.

"By deciding to win, and winning."


	6. We'll fight in the shade

"Impossible. Don't say that."

Ravenbriar looked straight into those emerald green eyes.

"Firestar, I don't want a prophecy. I'm saying it again. When you started to say it I interrupted you because I want to live my own life and act of my own free will.

Firestar narrowed his eyes as a new voice spoke behind Ravenbriar.

"Clouds of falcons shall blot out the sun-"

Ravenbriar shook her head slightly. "Then we'll fight in the shade."

"Fire will kill and falcons will aid-"

"Then I'll get in the river."

"Ravens will fall and destroy what they made-"

"Then I'll have better balance."

"Death will come to those who resist-"

"I'll just lure them off a cliff."

"And falcons will order for you talons and fangs."

Ravenbriar's smile broadened.

"Come and take them."

* * *

Ravenbriar woke up with a jolt.

The prophecy ordered defeat. Defeat wouldn't come. She knew it impossible.

But still...

"Clouds of falcons shall blot out the sun, Fire will kill and falcons will aid, Ravens will fall and destroy what they made, Death will come to those who resist, And falcons will order for your talons and fangs."

Ravenbriar stood up, wincing as she stretched her barely healed leg. Two moons had passed. Dawnpaw was improving splendidly.

"Come and take them, then. You can't force me into submission, StarClan," she muttered as she left the den.

"Sister, please come with me, out into the forest."

Ravenbriar turned. Her brother stood there.

"Falconclaw. Hello!"

"Please come with me."

Ravenbriar nodded. "All right!"

The siblings that could not look more different strolled into the forest, talking idly about prey and other Clans and the Code.

At last, they were at the RiverClan border. Falconclaw turned and kept walking, up the border.

Suddenly the ground was unfamiliar.

They had been walking outside of Clan territory for a few minutes. She couldn't smell anything familiar.

"Falconclaw, what's going on?"

Falconclaw stared at her.

"Prophecy. There a prophecy."

"You don't actually believe that crap, do you?" Ravenbriar asked.

Falconclaw pointed upward with his tail. It seemed to be growing darker...

"Clouds of falcons will blot out the sun."

Ravenbriar realized what was happened.

She spun around, and ran as fast as she could through the forest.

At last, she reached camp. She looked up at the almost entirely blotted out sky.

Her heart sank.

A black disc of darkness slowly slid over the sun.

"StarClan will blot out the sun and you will die!" Yowled Firestar. "Death to all those who do not follow my orders exactly!"

Ravenbriar straightened up.

She could still fight.

It was only a limp.

"The only way to rebuild is to destroy..." Ravenbriar whispered, and straightened up.

"Then we'll fight in the shade!" She yowled. Her voice echoed through the forest. Birchpaw, now named Birchflight, stepped up beside her.

Kitebeak. Wolfbriar. Duskfeather. Lightstreak. Hollyfang.

Six cats on her side, but they were still outnumbered.

But then Barksnap, Ashtail, and Flameheart stepped up.

The side were still uneven.

But in a good way.

Firestar sneered.

"You think we fight alone? You are the ones alone!"

Ravenbriar involuntarily shivered.

Shadows had twisted into the shapes of cats. They stood, sneering in all their horrible glory.

"Something darker than the Dark Forest..." Barksnap trailed off as more shadow-cats appeared.

Firestar shrieked in glee.

"So you see The Tribe of Dying Hopes, little ones! Watch your friends deaths around you, weak kits!"

The small group of rebels did the only logical thing.

They turned and ran.

Ravenbriar fell behind quickly. She was still only the size of a newly-made apprentice. Dawnpaw was the same size as her.

And she had that horrid limp.

_I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die._

But then the biggest cat in the group-Hollyfang-fell back.

Ravenbriar's former mentor picked her up like a kit and swung her over her back.

"Thank you," Ravenbriar panted.

"Give an order, idiot!"

"Yes, ma'am! Climb the trees!" She ordered.

They clambered up the pines.

Ravenbriar slid off her former mentor's back, and managed to run through the trees. She didn't know how she did it, but soon she was in the lead.

"How did you-"

"I don't know!" Ravenbriar told Barksnap as she leaped to a different tree, silently thanking Hollyfang for teaching her how. The others were not as lucky, for they struggled along with horrible balance.

* * *

"We're not being followed anymore!" Birchflight said, skidding into the clearing outside of Clan territory where they had made camp.

"Good. We should rest...I'll keep watch," Wolfbriar walked over to a tree and jumped up into it.

Ravenbriar mewed her thanks and curled up at the edge of the clearing. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

* * *

"You aren't going by the prophecy."

"I don't care about that crappy monologue!" Ravenbriar snarled at Firestar. "And why is a leader of ThunderClan talking to a ShadowClan cat anyway?"

Firestar narrowed his eyes.

"You are more like me than you think, little kit, a lot more like me than you have ever thought you are."

The ancient leader of ThunderClan blinked, and the forest of StarClan swirled into nothing.

* * *

Ravenbriar opened her eyes, mewing almost silently, heralding the coming of the dawn.

* * *

A slim black she-cat watched the group of cats wake slowly, one-by-one.

She turned around, walking off slowly, unnoticed.

"Raven."

She turned around, to see a golden-brown and white tom standing behind her.

"Falcon. Good to see you again," Raven said bitterly. Her mate looked slightly offended.

"I had good reasons to run," he muttered. "But where are our kits? They must be fully grown by now..."

"You find them. They do look exactly like us, after all," Raven snapped, her sadness plunging herself into ruin.

Falcon turned around and walked back the way he had come, just as the sun peeked over the horizon and the swirling tendrils of mist faded into nothingness.

Raven looked away from the sun, her blue-green eyes bitter and alone in this vast world.


	7. You

"Who was that?"

Ravenbriar jerked her head up at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Who?"

"I saw someone out the corner of my eye. Fur like your brother's. Built like him too."

Ravenbriar glanced to both sides.

"Probably just a rogue," Ravenbriar mewed hesitantly. She wasn't sure how she felt about this cat who looked like her brother.

Duskflower looked slightly troubled, as if she knew that cat and didn't want to speak about him.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence. That build is common and the light is odd. It must be playing tricks on your eyes," Ravenbriar assured her.

"Such a kind kit...like...own..." Duskflower muttered. Ravenbrair wondered what she had said, in full.

"What?"

Duskflower looked up, seeming faintly surprised. "I didn't say anything!"

Ravenbriar nodded, deciding not to press her for an answer.

* * *

Kitebeak didn't dislike rain.

The cold, fine rain in leaf-fall and leaf-bare was her favorite. The way it hit her fur felt so comforting.

It was raining like than now, two moons after they had fled. Leaf-fall was nearing leaf-bare. Death was coming on gray wings.

Kitebeak was the only one who could sense death.

Perhaps because she herself had been so close to death once.

When she had been given a near-fatal wound in her side, she had lost consciousness. She had been in a black, empty place. Death had loomed before her, shapeless dark features smiling darkly.

Death hovered near the albino tom Lightstreak, never touching, always following the already ill cat.

The presence, the stench, of Death was forever there. Slightly. Barely. But it was always stronger with some.

She wished she could sense her own death. That way, she could do what she wanted to do already. Say what she wanted to say. But there wasn't any time for that, now.

The rain always drove the sense of death away slightly. Cold water always did.

She was actually in a sense of despair. Death had suddenly loomed in front of Duskflower, then circled around and started following her.

The fuzzy patch of grayness hovering behind the two cats was enough to make Kitebeak sick.

Despite all this, she feigned happiness as the cloud of death followed Duskflower to the stream they had made camp beside.

Slowly, happiness faded. Happiness vanished from her fine features as she sensed what going to happen.

She sprang to her feet, abandoning a pleasant conversation with Wolfbriar.

"Duskflower! No!" She shrieked as the she-cat toppled in, coughing hard as Death overwhelmed her.

Ravenbriar barely looked up. The small she-cat seemed to be reflecting on how Duskflower had usually shoved her and her brother away from food, from water, from survival.

Duskflower only faked loving them.

Then something incredible happened.

A black shape hurtled out of the wood, diving into the stream, then surfacing with the limp corpse of Duskflower in her jaws.

The small black she-cat with blue-green eyes dropped Duskflower.

Ravenbriar looked up at the she-cat who looked almost exactly like her.

Life spread from the she-cat, driving away death, despair, and all the other things trying to get to her.

Kitebeak had a nagging suspicion about that she-cat.

_What if..._

* * *

Ravenbriar struggled to her feet.

"Mother is dead," she said flatly, calmly, pushing down the raging fear of others dying and the anger of how Duskflower had clearly hated her up until a little before the end.

"But she clearly hated me and Falconclaw..." Ravenbriar trailed off, shaking away the memories.

She looked at the rogue she-cat and froze.

Before she could thank her for retrieving the corpse, one word came out of both of their mouths at the same time, barely more than a whisper.

"...You."

Ravenbriar saw Kitebeak shudder out of the corner of her eye. She could see Wolfbriar behind the she-cat, looking confused.

"You have grown, my kit, you have grown so much I can barely recognize you. But you were merely a newborn when I was forced to give you up."

Ravenbriar was looking at her mother. The voice unseen that had encouraged when she was out training alone. The voice that she had almost forgotten

"My name has changed. I have cast away the name I used to treasure and I now call myself...Raven." Raven whispered so that no one save the dead could hear.

No one save the dead.

No one saved the dead from dying when they did.


	8. He's still alive

Ravenbriar stared blankly at her mother. She could hardly believe that she had found someone who actually cared for her.

Someone who had a reason to abandon her.

_"I was ill. Near death. I barely recovered. I didn't want to kill my newborn kits. But one died and I had to kill one, for he was near death anyway. I named him Bird so that he may go to your wonderful ancestors. I simply abandoned him. I feel terrible about that."  
_

"Wait a moment...I heard Duskflower talking about how Redflight had taken in a rogue kit when one of her own two kits had died. The kit...is a golden-brown tom with blue eyes and a white underbelly. And he's right over there, talking to Kitebeak."

"Bird..." Raven trailed off, looking shocked.

"He's still alive. But his name is Birchflight now."

Raven looked so relieved, she seemed to fade from existence a tiny bit.

_He's still alive..._

**Bleh. Short chapter. Writer's block for this story. Have any ideas? I have _zero._  
**


	9. Is It Really You

Raventalon stared up at the bloody sky.

It wasn't actually blood, it just looked it.

Her eyes searched beyond the horizon, searching for what she had long since lost to the cruel talons of fate.

"Looking for your dreams again, Raventalon?"

She turned around. Her friend, Kitewing, stood behind her.

"Yes..."

Wolfbriar joined them at the edge of the cliff. The past years of running had changed her.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find it someday. What you're looking for."

Raventalon nodded, her eyes downcast.

* * *

The old she-cat stumbled to her feet, her black fur rough and stiff.

Raven stepped forward. The past three leafbares had changed her beyond recognition.

The albino tom Lightstreak's grave-marked with a stone-simply blurred into the surroundings this time. She limped out of camp, her eyes darting from side to side.

_I've got to find it._

At last, she found what she was looking for.

A small cave in the side of a cliff. The cold, hard ground inside the stone walls showed that water had not once touched it in the past five years.

She struggled inside, walking to the back.

A battered red collar lay next to a small bowl with rotted pebble-like food inside, and next to that there was an empty bowl. Two battered twoleg pelts lay side by side. A twoleg den-like container lay on the ground, full of rotting food and empty bowls.

She and the little girl had ran away together.

She could almost see the now far away girl's face at the entrance of the den.

_"Raven!"_

"R-Raven? Is it really you?"

She was much older. But it was her.

Anna.

That talent Raven had for understanding twolegs came from her.

"Anna!" Raven shrieked, running to the girl.

"Raven...thank you..you understood what I said to you, back then? Oh, Raven..."

Raven allowed for warm arms to wrap around her. The dark-haired girl sobbed into her dark, matted pelt.

"It's okay. It's okay," Raven mewed. Somehow, the girl understood.

"You don't understand, do you? I died back then. Are you dead, too?"

Raven heard a cry from nearby.

"It's Raven! She's dead!"

Raven didn't care. She closed her eyes, joyful.


End file.
